Dentist, doctor indicted in drug trafficking

By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Poland dentist and a Hubbard osteopathic doctor are charged with drug trafficking in separate cases -- both of which involve addictive medicines.
Direct presentments were made to a Mahoning County grand jury, which on Thursday indicted Dr. Robert M. Maruschak, 70, of Algonquin Drive, Poland; and Dr. Larry Lee Smith, 66, of Chestnut Ridge Road, Hubbard.
Maruschak is indicted on 42 counts: 16 for trafficking in drugs, all fifth-degree felonies; five for trafficking in drugs, felonies of the fourth degree; and 21 for illegal processing of drug documents, also fourth-degree felonies.
Smith is indicted on 39 counts: 19 for trafficking in drugs, all fifth-degree felonies; 19 for failure to keep records of controlled substances, all first-degree misdemeanors; and one for labeling, another first-degree misdemeanor.
Neither man had been booked into the county jail as of Thursday evening.
Atty. Robert Duffrin, an assistant prosecutor in Mahoning County, said the pharmacy division of Mahoning County Drug Task Force investigated both men during 2005.
Maruschak is accused of giving Vicodin, a pain-relieving narcotic, and prescriptions for Vicodin to five women whom he was not treating as patients, Duffrin said. Maruschak's dental office is on East McKinley Way.
Officials were tipped off by a woman who provided information about Maruschak, and agents from the state pharmacy board also investigated, Duffrin said.
Smith's practice is in Olde Courthouse Building, Canfield. Investigators say Smith provided the diet drug Phentermine, a controlled substance, to people who were not obese. Phentermine is a "very addictive drug, like an amphetamine," Duffrin said. It's supposed to be prescribed for a maximum of 12 weeks, but records on two of Smith's patients date back five years, Duffrin said.
An undercover informant got the drug from Smith on many occasions without meeting the body mass indexes or other requirements for treatment, Duffrin said.
Smith also is accused of not properly recording prescriptions that he was dispensing from his office, Duffrin said.
The labeling charge is tied to the packaging of Prozac, according to the indictment.